We had finished the carpentry for the kitchen, and the only thing missing was the table.  The clients and architect had long planned a large, counter-height table to complete the kitchen, but a suitable table was not presenting itself.  The unusual dimensions almost certainly precluded finding a pre-built table, and no custom design had gelled yet.  The call from Paris (Texas) broke the logjam.  It turned out that our client’s grandfather, a woodworker, was close to retirement, and he was clearing out his shop.  He had a pile of walnut that he’d had cut almost 50 years before and never gotten around to using.  Would his grandson be interested in it?  He was, and worked to convince me that I should be too.  Several…